Actes du colloque - Volume 6

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Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Paris 2013
The resource persons were supplied by both ISSMGE and
GGS. ISSMGE provided four resource persons consisting of the
Immediate Past President, Prof Pêdro Seco e Pinto of the
University of Coimbra in Portugal, the Immediate Past Vice
President for Africa, Prof. Mounir Bouassida of the National
Engineering School of Tunis and two members of TC17: Prof
George Heerten of Germany and Mr. Serge Varaksin, Deputy
General Manager of Menard Group, France and Chairman of
T.C. 17. These were complemented by three Ghanaian speakers
made up of Prof S. I. K. Ampadu of the Civil Engineering
Department of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology and President of GGS, Dr M. D. Gidigasu a
renowned expert on lateritic soils and Togbui Kporku III a
Director of Conterra Ltd, a private Geotechnical Consulting
firm.
The seminar consisted of two days of lectures and one day
for a field trip. The lectures covered soil improvement
techniques with and without additives, the improvement of soft
soils, the principles and use of geosynthetics for soil
improvement and the characteristics and improvement of
lateritic soils. The third and final day of the seminar was
devoted to a field visit to the Keta Sea Defence Project at a
fishing town some 150 km east of Accra. During the field trip,
Togbui Kporku III took the participants through the details of
the project which he said consisted primarily of the building of
sea defense structures to stabilize the shores of the town.
Among the three seminar participants from Nigeria was
Prof. Samuel Ejezie who is the current Vice President for
Africa. The programme included a general assembly of GGS
during which Professors Seco e Pinto and Samuel Ejezie
encouraged the Ghana Society to improve upon its membership
and programmes and assured the Society of the support of
ISSMGE. The seminar was particularly significant in that it was
the first high profile programme for the Ghana Geotechnical
society in recent times and it also clearly showed the potential
for the Ghana Society to grow.
1.5.2 Other Events:
The Ghana Geotechnical Society held its Annual General
meeting on 30 June 2010 and ushered in a new executive
committee. This is made up of the following officers:
Position Officer Mobile No. E-mail
President Prof S.I.K.
Ampadu
0208 165506 .
Secretary Mr. Joseph K.Oddei 0244 726164
Treasurer
Mr. Kweku
Mensah
Solomon
027 7573031
Member Mr. GordonVan-Tay 024 4358069
Member Mr. J.F.Pinkrah 020 8177938
Southern
Rep
Mr.
Emmanuel
Odai
024 4795154
Northern
Rep
Mr. Mike
Konadu 024 4768645
The new executives were tasked to formulate a programme
and calendar of activities for each year and to publicize the
activities. They were also directed to ensure that GGS
programmes focus on exposure and training, image building and
regulation of activities. It was pointed out that the soon-to-be-
passed Engineering Bill (by the Parliament of the Ghana) would
provide the legal framework for the regulation of activities of
geotechnical engineering.
1.6 CTGA
The Society held a colloquium from 17th to 18th February 2010
in Yamoussoukro, (Ivory Coast) which was well-attended by
participants from Franco-phone countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa. On the whole, more than 50 members were in
attendance. The theme of the colloquium was “Foundations of
infrastructures in Sub-Saharan Africa – Design and Case
Histories”.
It was sponsored by the CTGA and the Association of
African laboratories for Buildings and public works (ALBTP). 9
(nine) communications were presented by CTGA experts
followed by suitable and fruitful discussions. Almost 70
delegates from 9 countries attended this colloquium.
A general Assembly of CTGA took place on the 19th
February 2010 at the same place. During the meeting,
experiences and resolutions taken in October 2009 during the
ISSMGE board meeting in Alexandria (Egypt) were dispatched
to all CTGA’s members. Preparations to the forthcoming XVth
ARC SMG were launched. The following members were
elected to implement the geotechnical training throughout the
CTGA geographical region.
- Dr Papa Goumbo lo, Pr Ibrahim Khalil Cissé ;
- Dr Mamba Mpele, Dr Marcelin Etienne Kana ;
In April 2010 a series of training courses in geotechnical
engineering, and laboratory and in situ testing was launched by
the Cameroonian CTGA national group (CNGC).
From 16th to 17th March 2011 was held at the conference
hall of «CELEXON» of the Centre «ORPHAN AIDS» of
BUJUMBURA (Burundi), a technical colloquium/seminar on
the main theme “Soil stability and its impact on constructions in
Sub-Saharan Africa”. It was sponsored by the CTGA and the
Association of African laboratories for Buildings and public
works (ALBTP). 14 (fourteen) communications were presented
by various experts from Cameroon, France, Congo, Burundi,
Morocco, followed by fruitful discussions held. Almost 70
experts from 9 countries attended this colloquium.
A general Assembly of CTGA took place on the 18th March
2011 at the same place. A resolution and measures was taken to
rise the number of CTGA members.
The next CTGA technical conference is scheduled to take
place during the month of March 2012 in Cameroon at KRIBI.
At present, plans are on-going to encourage countries
capable of standing alone to form their own national member
societies.
1.7 Egypt
Since the end of the 17th International Conference of ISSMGE
in Alexandria, the Egyptian Geotechnical Society has been
involved in different activities most of which promote the
positive impact of geotechnical engineering in the society.
During the period, the most significant activities of the Egyptian
Geotechnical Society (EGS) are as follows:
1. Carried out studies in collaboration with the Governorates
of Matrouh and Aswan on mitigation methods of flash
floods.
2. Cooperated with the "Military Technical Academy" from
the scientific and organizational aspects for the "Fifth
Engineering Conference of the Military Technical
Academy, which held from 25th to 27th May 2010.
3. Established the organizational basics for a National
Geotechnical Conference that is to take place late 2011 at
Tanta University.
4. Entered into co-operation with the "Supreme Council of
Antiquities" in projects of restoration of monuments and
stability of several archaeological sites all over Egypt.
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